4 August 2015

There is a great tradition of
open-air oratory in the working-class movement. Wal Hannington gives it a lot
of attention under the heading “Street Corner Meeting”. Such open-air meetings
can also take place at factory gates, at suitable times.

This tradition can also be
seen among the religious people and in the bible stories of the prophets and the
New Testament stories of John the Baptist, Jesus and St Paul, for some
examples.

Lenin, too, was known to be
an open-air speaker to impromptu crowds, and there are films of him doing so.

“Soap Box” oratory is a great
way to learn how to communicate with the people en masse (“in their numbers”). Speaking in public is an art, and
like any other art it requires many hours of practice to make it approach
anything like perfection.

This kind of interaction with
people, including strangers, also breeds confidence in the people, and love of
the people. It is part of the “legalisation” of our organisations, including
the communist party. Putting yourselves in front of the people and interacting
with them means that they, too, can no longer regard you as strangers. Nor do
they have to rely on the bourgeois mass media for news of you, or for an
explanation of what you are.

Agitprop and Induction

There is an overlap between
Induction and Agitprop.

We have made two separate
courses, with perhaps a tacit understanding that Induction is the internal
business of our structures, while Agitprop is for consumption by people who are
outside it.

This is not the case. In
fact, Agitprop is as much for “internal” consumption as it is for those who may
not yet be organised, while Induction in turn requires Agitprop. One can even
say that Induction is a process of Agitprop with the end result being the
generation of cadres of the Party and of the Movement.

The overlap between Agitprop
and Induction is particularly apparent in this part of our Agitprop course. In
the end, what we are learning in both cases is how to be cadres, or what are
sometimes called “tribunes of the people”. It is all about communicating.

Speakers’ Corner

The illustration shows the
Speakers’ Corner in London, which is an expanse of grass in Hyde Park near the
Marble Arch, where all kinds of speakers gather at suitable times to address
the passers-by. There is another place in London on Tower Hill where this
tradition of open-air speaking used to be carried on, and maybe still is.